Component adjusting system

ABSTRACT

A system for mounting a blade assembly to a machine includes a mounting assembly having a first retainer assembly configured to assist in securing the blade assembly and a second retainer assembly configured to assist in securing the blade assembly. The first retainer assembly includes an adjusting assembly configured to reposition the first retainer assembly with respect to the blade assembly in at least two directions.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure relates generally to an adjusting system, and more particularly to an adjusting system for a component of a work machine.

BACKGROUND

Motor graders are typically used to perform displacement, distribution and leveling of material, such as soil. Generally, a motor grader includes a tractor unit coupled to a grader group via a tow bar assembly. The grader group includes a blade assembly having a grader blade, as well as a mounting assembly with retainers. The blade assembly is positioned in the retainers such that the grader blade is supported by the mounting assembly. Wear strips are provided between the retainers and the blade assembly to facilitate the retention of the grader blade in the assembly, while allowing sliding movement of the blade assembly with respect to the retainers. The tractor unit moves the blade assembly over the ground, so that the grader blade engages with the material, such as soil, so as to displace, distribute or level the soil.

During use of the motor grader, the grader blade is tipped and sideshifted to manipulate the material as discussed above. With such use, the wear strips tend to erode, thus loosening the retention of the grader blade and allowing unintended motion between the grader blade and mounting assembly. A loose grader blade inhibits the accurate displacement, distribution and leveling of the material.

To overcome this problem, shims are installed to fill gaps caused by the erosion of the wear strips. However, using shims is work intensive, and thus increases the maintenance cost of the motor grader.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,076,370 (the '370 patent) discloses a mounting assembly for a motor grader including V-shaped retainers fitted with wear strips. Engagement portions of a blade assembly engage the wear strips to secure the blade assembly to the mounting assembly. The '370 patent requires the use of shims to fill gaps caused by erosion of the wear strips. Operators must continually add or remove shims to the mounting assembly as the wear strips erode or when replacing the wear strips. Adding to the complexity of the device, each wear strip must be secured to the retainer with a retainer clip.

The present disclosure provides a method and apparatus for securing a blade assembly to a mounting assembly that avoids some or all of the shortcomings in the prior art.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with one disclosed exemplary embodiment, a mounting assembly for mounting a blade assembly to a machine may include a first retainer assembly configured to assist in securing the blade assembly and a second retainer assembly configured to assist in securing the blade assembly. The first retainer assembly may include an adjusting assembly configured to reposition the first retainer assembly with respect to the blade assembly in at least two directions.

According to another exemplary disclosed embodiment, a method is provided for adjustably securing a blade assembly to a machine. The method includes retaining a first portion of the blade assembly in a first retaining cavity, retaining a second portion of the blade assembly in a second retaining cavity, and adjusting the retention of the first portion of the blade assembly in the first retaining cavity in at least two directions.

A method for adjustably securing a blade assembly to a machine may include retaining a first portion of the blade assembly in a first retaining cavity. Retaining a second portion of the blade assembly in a second retaining cavity and adjusting the retention of the first portion of the blade assembly in the first retaining cavity with at least one adjusting member. Also identifying an amount of adjustment of the retention of the first portion based on movement of a visual indicator associated with the adjusting member.

According to yet another disclosed embodiment, a mounting assembly for mounting a blade assembly to a motor grader may include a first retainer assembly configured to assist in securing the blade assembly. A plurality of wear strips adjustably engage one another. A second retainer assembly configured to assist in securing the blade assembly may also be included.

According to another disclosed embodiment, a mounting assembly for mounting a blade assembly to a machine may include a first retainer assembly configured to assist in securing the blade assembly. Also included may be a second retainer assembly configured to assist in securing the blade assembly. The first retainer assembly includes an adjusting means for repositioning the first retainer assembly with respect to the blade assembly in at least two directions.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a pictorial side view of a motor grader incorporating an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a partial side view of a moldboard mounting assembly and blade assembly according to the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 a is a partial cross sectional side view of an upper retainer assembly of the mounting assembly of FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 3 b is a partial cross sectional side view of a lower retainer assembly of the mounting assembly of FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 4 a is a perspective view of the first and second wear strips of the upper retainer assembly of FIG. 3 a;

FIG. 4 b is a perspective view of a wear strip of the lower retainer assembly of FIG. 3 b; and

FIG. 5 is a pictorial partial back or rear view of the mounting assembly of FIGS. 1 and 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to exemplary embodiments of the invention, illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts.

Referring to the figures, a motor grader is shown generally at 10 in FIG. 1. The motor grader 10 may include a rear frame 14, a front frame 16, and a blade assembly 20. The rear and front frames 14 and 16 may be supported by tires 18. A controllable rotatable assembly 22 supports a mounting assembly 24 to the motor grader 10 in a manner well known in the art. The mounting assembly 24 supports the blade assembly 20 in a manner to be detailed below. An operator cab 26 containing the many controls necessary to operate the motor grader 10 may be mounted on the front frame 16. An engine 28 may be mounted on the rear frame 14.

The blade assembly 20 and mounting assembly 24 are shown in FIG. 2. The blade assembly 20 may include a mounting frame 60 and upper and lower protrusions 65, 67 located on a back side 63 of the mounting frame 60. Blade assembly 20 may also include upper and lower blade rails 62, 64 attached to associated protrusions 65, 67. In addition, blade assembly 20 may include a blade or moldboard 59 attached to a front side 61 of the mounting frame 60 in any conventional manner.

In the illustrated embodiment, the protrusion 65 is shaped such that two sides 90, 92 extend away from the mounting frame 60 to support a third side 94 which is nearly vertical in orientation. A fourth side 96 is directly connected to the back side 63 of mounting frame 60. Protrusion 67 is similarly constructed and situated as protrusion 65. The protrusions 65, 67 may include any other shape allowing for attachment of blade rails 62, 64 to the blade assembly 20.

The blade rails 62, 64 in this exemplary embodiment are rectangular in shape with a substantially vertical orientation. In this configuration, the blade rails 62, 64 are attached to the nearly vertical side 94 of its corresponding protrusion in any conventional manner such as welds or mechanical fasteners. The blade rails 62, 64 can take another shape, such as oval or diamond provided they can be securely attached to the protrusions 65, 67. In addition, blade rails 62, 64 may be formed integral with protrusions 65, 67.

The mounting assembly 24 in FIG. 2 may include an upper retainer assembly 34 and a lower retainer assembly 36. Referring to FIG. 3A, the upper retainer assembly 34 may include a generally U-shaped cavity 38 housing an outer wear strip 40 and an inner wear strip 42 together forming an upper retaining cavity 43. The shape of the outer and inner wear strips 40, 42 are described below in connection with FIG. 4A. The exemplary embodiment of the upper retainer assembly 34 in FIG. 3A may also include a spacer member 41. In this embodiment, the spacer member 41 is L-shaped to correspond to the shape of the inner wear strip 42. The length of the spacer member 41 may generally correspond to the length of the inner wear strip 42.

Referring to FIG. 3B, the lower retainer assembly 36 may include a generally U-shaped cavity 52. The U-shaped cavity 52 may house a wear strip 54 forming a lower retaining cavity 45.

It should be understood that the U-shaped cavities 38, 52 of the upper and lower retainer assemblies 34, 36 can take any other shape, such as curved, square or the like. In addition, the spacer member 41 can take on any shape to correspond to the shape of the wear strip housed in the cavity. The spacer member 41 may be formed as a plurality of separate members, or may be omitted in its entirety.

Referring to FIG. 4A, the outer wear strip 40 may include a long portion 69 and a short portion 71. The long portion 69 may be connected to the short portion 71 at approximately a 90 degree angle (θ). The inner wear strip 42 may include a long portion 68 and a short portion 70. As with the outer wear strip 40, the long portion 68 of the inner wear strip 42 may be connected to the short portion 70 of the inner wear strip 42 at approximately a 90 degree angle. The outer and inner wear strips 40, 42 are housed in the U-shaped cavity 38 so as to engage one another. According to this exemplary embodiment, the engagement is such that the short portions 71, 70 lie substantially in the same plane across the width of the U-shaped cavity 38 and the long members 69, 68 of the wear strips 40, 42 are situated across from each other in the U-shaped cavity 38 such that they lie substantially parallel to each other and substantially parallel the sides 37, 39 of the U-shaped cavity 38 of the upper retainer assembly 34. The engagement of the wear strips 40, 42 forms the generally U-shaped upper retaining cavity 43 in the upper retainer assembly 34.

As embodied in FIG. 4B, wear strip 54 may be U-shaped forming lower retaining cavity 45. The length of the wear strips 40, 42, and 54 generally correspond to the length of their respective retainer assembly 34, 36.

It should be understood that outer and inner wear strips 40, 42 could be used in the lower retainer assembly 36 and that the wear strip 54 of the a lower retainer assembly 36 could be used in the upper retainer assembly 34. Alternatively, this disclosure could be practiced with both the upper and lower retainer assemblies 34, 36 including wear strips 40, 42.

FIG. 5 illustrates a rear view of mounting assembly 24 including the upper retainer assembly 34 and the lower retainer assembly 36. The upper retainer assembly 34 includes two horizontal adjusting setscrews 44, 46 and two vertical adjusting setscrews 48, 50. The setscrews 44, 46, 48, 50 are in contact with the spacer member 41, which abuts wear strips 40, 42. (See FIG. 3A.)

It should be understood that if the spacer member 41 is omitted, setscrews 44, 46, 48, 50 may be in direct contact with the wear strips 40, 42. The upper retainer assembly 34 of FIG. 5 also includes two end caps 74, 76 with corresponding cap bolts 78, 80. Similarly, lower retainer assembly 36 includes end caps 82, 84 and corresponding cap bolts 86, 88. Mounting assembly 24 may also include an additional set of retainer assemblies 72, 73 with the same configuration as the upper and lower retainer assemblies 34, 36.

Referring to FIG. 5, each setscrew 44, 46, 48, 50 may be marked with a line 51 or lines, or other visual indicator, to assist in determining the amount wear that has occurred on associated wear strips 40 and 42. Line 51 may be used to identify an initial clamped position of the setscrew with respect to the other components of the upper retainer assembly 34, or some other fixed component of the mounting assembly 24. If multiple lines 51 are used, one line may indicate the initial clamping position of the setscrew and the other line(s) may correspond to the amount of wear that has occurred on the wear strip. For example, a line may be included in the setscrew to indicate that replacement of a wear strip is necessary.

While horizontal adjusting setscrews 44, 46 are illustrated on the rear side of the mounting assembly 24 in FIG. 5, these setscrews could be alternatively located on the front side of the mounting assembly 24. Furthermore, this disclosure can be practiced with one horizontal adjusting setscrew and one vertical adjusting setscrew or with more than two horizontal and vertical adjusting setscrews in any combination and configuration. In addition, setscrews 44, 46, 48, 50 may be replaced with any other type of adjusting mechanism, such as adjustable bolts, that would allow for controlled adjustment of the spacer member 41 and/or wear strips 40, 42.

Each of the components described above may be fabricated from any rigid material, such as steel or cast iron. The wear strips 40, 42, and 54 may be made from a material less rigid than the material used to fabricate the retaining assemblies 34, 36 and the blade rails 62, 64.

As described above, blade rails 62, 64 interact with wear strips 40, 42, spacer member 41, and upper and lower retaining cavities 43, 45. These components may be shaped differently as long as they mate together in the manner described above.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

The motor grader 10 is used primarily as a finishing tool to sculpt a surface of earth 12 to a final arrangement. The engine 28 is used to drive or power the motor grader 10 and is controlled by the operator using controls in operator cab 26.

Referring to FIG. 1, the controllable rotatable assembly 22 rotates around axis A. The mounting assembly 24 is pivotable around axis 30 (FIG. 2) with respect to the controllable rotatable assembly 22. The blade assembly 20 is also adjustably slidable side-to-side with respect to the mounting assembly 24. Rather than moving large quantities of earth in the direction of travel like other machines, such as a bulldozer, the combination of these motions allow the blade assembly 20 to displace, distribute and level a material as desired by the operator of the motor grader, typically from side-to-side.

During operation of motor grader 10, the upper and lower retainer assemblies 34 and 36 secure the blade assembly 20 to the controllable rotatable assembly 22 of the motor grader 10. As described above, the upper blade rail 62 of the blade assembly 20 may be retained in the retaining cavity 43 formed by the wear strips 40, 42 in the upper retainer assembly 34 (FIG. 2). The lower blade rail 64 of the blade assembly 20 may be retained in the cavity 45 formed by wear strip 54 of the lower retainer assembly 36.

Turning the vertical and/or horizontal adjusting setscrews 44, 46, 48, 50 allows for adjustment of the spacer member 41 in two directions, which repositions one or both of the wear strips 40, 42 with respect to the blade rails 62, 64. The engaging relationship between the inner and outer wear strips 40, 42 allows for the wear strips to move closer together in two directions without abutting against one another or the sides 37, 39 of U-shaped cavity 38 as the horizontal adjusting setscrews 44, 46 are turned. This compensates for any erosion in wear strips 40, 42 and ensures blade assembly 20 is rigidly secured by mounting assembly 24. The spacer member 41 assists in distributing the force of the adjusting setscrews 44, 46, 48, 50 along the length of the spacer member 41. By use of the adjusting setscrews 44, 46, 48, 50, no shims are required to adjust the coupling of the blade assembly 20 to the mounting assembly 24. Thus, mounting assembly 24 rigidly and adjustably secures the blade assembly 20 to the controllable rotatable assembly 22 of the motor grader 10. End caps 74, 76, 82, 84 and corresponding end bolts 76, 78, 86, 88 prevent the wear strips from moving horizontally with the blade rails.

In addition to function setscrews 44, 46, 48, 50 in adjusting the position of the wear strips, setscrews 44, 46, 48, and 50, may also function to identify the amount of wear occurring on the wear strips 40, 42. As noted above, setscrews may include visual indicators such as lines 51 to indicate an initial clamping position of the wear strip. Measuring the distance setscrews 44, 46, 48, and 50 have traveled during use from this initial clamped position may indicate the amount of wear on the wear strips 40, 42 and may be determined from the movement of line 51. Each wear strip 40, 42 has an associated predetermined amount of wear available and this wear is directly related to the travel of the setscrews 44, 46, 48, and 50. In one embodiment, once the distance the setscrews 44, 46, 48, and 50 have traveled an appropriate predetermined distance (i.e. 7.5-8 mm (0.29-0.31 inches)) as measured by the movement of lines 51, wear strips 40, 42 should be replaced.

It is understood that those portions of the first retainer assembly 34 described above as allowing for a repositioning of the first and second wear strips 40, 42 of the retainer assembly with respect to the blade assembly may be referred to as an adjusting assembly or adjusting means of the retainer assembly.

Other embodiments of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the invention disclosed herein. It is intended that the specification and examples be considered as exemplary only, with a true scope and spirit of the invention being indicated by the following claims and their equivalents. 

1. A mounting assembly for mounting a blade assembly to a machine, comprising: a first retainer assembly configured to assist in securing the blade assembly; and a second retainer assembly configured to assist in securing the blade assembly, the first retainer assembly including an adjusting assembly configured to reposition the first retainer assembly with respect to the blade assembly in at least two directions.
 2. The mounting assembly according to claim 1, wherein the adjusting assembly includes at least two adjusting members.
 3. The mounting assembly according to claim 2, wherein the at least two adjusting members include adjusting members applying a force at substantially right angles to one another.
 4. The mounting assembly according to claim 3, wherein the adjusting members are adjustable setscrews.
 5. The mounting assembly according to claim 1, wherein the first retainer assembly includes a first wear strip and a second wear strip together forming a retaining cavity, and the adjusting assembly is configured to reposition at least one of the first and second wear strips.
 6. The mounting assembly according to claim 5, wherein the first and second wear strips each include a first portion and a second portion connected to form a substantially right angle, the first portion being longer than the second portion, and the first and second wear strips being arranged to engage one another.
 7. The mounting assembly according to claim 6, wherein a spacer member engages at least the first wear strip.
 8. The mounting assembly according to claim 7, wherein the adjusting assembly is configured to reposition the spacer member.
 9. The mounting assembly according to claim 5, wherein the second retainer assembly houses a third wear strip forming a second retaining cavity.
 10. The mounting assembly according to claim 9, wherein the blade assembly includes a rear portion having a first blade rail shaped to be received in the first retaining cavity, and a second blade rail shaped to be received in the second retaining cavity.
 11. The mounting assembly according to claim 10, wherein the machine is a motor grader.
 12. A method for adjustably securing a blade assembly to a machine, comprising: retaining a first portion of the blade assembly in a first retaining cavity; retaining a second portion of the blade assembly in a second retaining cavity; and adjusting the retention of the first portion of the blade assembly in the first retaining cavity in at least two directions.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein the first portion of the blade assembly includes a first blade rail and the second portion of the blade assembly includes a second blade rail.
 14. The method of claim 12, wherein the first retaining cavity houses a first wear strip and a second wear strip, and the adjusting of the retention of the first portion includes adjusting the position of at least one of the first and second wear strips.
 15. The method of claim 14, wherein adjusting the position of the at least one wear strip is achieved by at least two adjusting members.
 16. The method of claim 15, wherein the at least two adjusting members apply forces at substantially right angles to one another.
 17. The method of claim 16, wherein the first and second wear strips each include a first portion and a second portion connected to form a substantially right angle, the first portion being longer than the second portion, and the first and second wear strips being arranged to engage one another.
 18. A method for adjustably securing a blade assembly to a machine, comprising: retaining a first portion of the blade assembly in a first retaining cavity; retaining a second portion of the blade assembly in a second retaining cavity; adjusting the retention of the first portion of the blade assembly in the first retaining cavity with at least one adjusting member; and identifying an amount of adjustment of the retention of the first portion based on movement of a visual indicator associated with the adjusting member.
 19. The method of claim 18, wherein the at least one adjusting member is an adjustable setscrew.
 20. The method of claim 18, wherein the visual indicator includes a line or marking on the at least one adjusting member.
 21. The method of claim 18, wherein the machine is a motor grader.
 22. A mounting assembly for mounting a blade assembly to a motor grader, comprising: a first retainer assembly configured to assist in securing the blade assembly and including a plurality of wear strips adjustably engaging one another; and a second retainer assembly configured to assist in securing the blade assembly.
 23. The mounting assembly according to claim 22, wherein at least one of the plurality of wear strips is repositionable with respect to the blade assembly in at least two directions.
 24. The mounting assembly according to claim 23, wherein the plurality of wear strips forms a first retaining cavity for retaining a portion of the blade assembly.
 25. The mounting assembly according to claim 24, wherein the first retainer assembly includes at least two adjusting members configured to assist in repositioning at least one of the first and second wear strips.
 26. The mounting assembly according to claim 25, wherein the at least two adjusting members include adjusting members configured to apply a force at substantially right angles to one another.
 27. The mounting assembly according to claim 26, wherein the at least two adjusting members are adjustable setscrews.
 28. The mounting assembly according to claim 27, wherein the plurality of wear strips include a first wear strip and a second wear strip, each of the first wear strip and second wear strips including a first portion and a second portion connected to form a substantially right angle, the first portion being longer than the second portion.
 29. The mounting assembly according to claim 28, wherein a spacer member is located between the at least two adjusting members and at least the first wear strip.
 30. The mounting assembly according to claim 29, wherein the adjustable setscrews are configured to reposition the spacer member.
 31. The mounting assembly according to claim 22, wherein the second retainer assembly houses at least one wear strip forming a second retaining cavity.
 32. The mounting assembly according to claim 31, wherein the blade assembly includes a rear portion having a first blade rail shaped to be received in the first retaining cavity, and a second blade rail shaped to be received in the second retaining cavity.
 33. A mounting assembly for mounting a blade assembly to a machine, comprising: a first retainer assembly configured to assist in securing the blade assembly; and a second retainer assembly configured to assist in securing the blade assembly, the first retainer assembly including an adjusting means for repositioning the first retainer assembly with respect to the blade assembly in at least two directions.
 34. The mounting assembly according to claim 33, wherein the first retainer assembly includes a first wear strip and a second wear strip together forming a retaining cavity, and the adjusting means is configured to reposition at least one of the first and second wear strips.
 35. The mounting assembly according to claim 34, wherein the first and second wear strips each include a first portion and a second portion connected to form a substantially right angle, the first portion being longer than the second portion, and the first and second wear strips being arranged to engage one another.
 36. The mounting assembly according to claim 35, wherein a spacer member engages at least the first wear strip.
 37. The mounting assembly according to claim 36, wherein the adjusting means is configured to reposition the spacer member.
 38. The mounting assembly according to claim 36, wherein the second retainer assembly houses a third wear strip forming a second retaining cavity.
 39. The mounting assembly according to claim 37, wherein the blade assembly includes a rear portion having a first blade rail shaped to be received in the first retaining cavity, and a second blade rail shaped to be received in the second retaining cavity.
 40. The mounting assembly according to claim 38, wherein the machine is a motor grader. 